• ABOUT
  • ADVERTISE
  • SUPPORT
  • CONTACT
  • WORK
Monday, March 1, 2021
Shanghaiist
8 °c
Shanghai
7 ° Sat
6 ° Sun
6 ° Mon
5 ° Tue
5 ° Wed
9 ° Thu
  • NEWS

    The “world’s tallest swing” is now open in Chongqing and it looks absolutely terrifying

    Kid falls from second story while imitating Kobe Bryant’s fadeaway

    Guy wearing police uniform for “safety” pulled over by highway cops

    Dalian to test 190,000 residents after 3 new confirmed cases are reported

    One-legged Chinese baller inspires others with his hard work and three-point shot

    Chinese courier company caught using mannequins as security inspectors

    China opens another world’s longest glass-bottomed bridge in Guangdong province

    3-year-old girl and her grandma beaten with shovel in horrific “revenge” attack

    Workers spotted burning documents as US orders China to close its Houston consulate

    LOOK: Massive landslide blocks river in Hubei province

    IKEA to open new downtown location in Shanghai this week

    Hunan bus drivers block road to pass bag of betel nuts across opposite lanes

    Jilin driver delayed by 20 minutes by wild Siberian tiger relaxing on the road

    6-year-old boy drowns to death during first swimming lesson at public pool

    Neighbor smoothly catches toddler falling from 5th floor

    Dude spotted chillaxing on self-made raft on river in Chongqing during flood season

    Shanghai dude gets part of ear bitten off while stopping drunk guy from assaulting woman

    Woman mysteriously disappears from home in Hangzhou, leaving behind no trace

    Two women get stuck in elevator at home for 4 days, drink their own urine to stay alive

    Urumqi goes on lockdown as fears rise of a new coronavirus outbreak in Xinjiang

  • L!FE
  • FOOD
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO

    WATCH: Colorized footage of life in Beijing a century ago

    Hunan high school turns gym into cafeteria to keep students separated

    Kung fu school reopens teaching students how to swing bricks from their balls

    Dancing aunties and uncles return to Wuhan sidewalks

    Xi Jinping actually made a joke!

    Shanghai dad builds Death Stranding like safety pod to protect baby from coronavirus

    Tag along on food tour of Lanzhou, the hometown of hand-pulled noodles

    Man smashes bus window, jumps out after being stuck in traffic for 20 minutes

    Scooter driver somehow survives being squashed by massive panes of glass

    How students at a Xuzhou primary school have taken jump rope to the next level

    How this Chinese martial arts master “jumps on water”

    Bringing your date to your studio apartment of great shame

    Male designer loses 25 kg, goes viral modeling women’s clothing

    Take a look inside Taiwan’s “most luxurious university dormitories”

    Racers take the stairs in 119-floor vertical marathon up the Shanghai Tower

    Meet China’s captivating “roly-poly girl” who defies gravity with a smile

    Awful Chinese propaganda rappers take on Hong Kong protests, sample Trump

    Trying the food at a Chinese Muslim wedding in Kaifeng

    What it’s like visiting home after living in China

    Watch this Chinese teen jump rope 228 times in just 30 seconds

  • TICKETS
    • FAQ
  • ★ BE A PATRON
    • ★ DONATE
No Result
View All Result
Shanghaiist
No Result
View All Result
Shanghaiist
No Result
View All Result

Xi Na serves classic Hunan fare despite its Spanish Villa setting

by shang_sueanne
May 5, 2018
in Food

xinafishhead.jpg To those who appreciate honest, down-to-earth Chinese eateries, Xintiandi may seem like a invasive strangler fig vine whose garish brick-wall tendrils seem to probe further and further into the outlying native food streets everyday. But look between the glitz, overpriced pizza, and Din Tai Fung and you’ll find some respectable digs; Xi Na, to name one.
Decor
Xi Na is a Hunan spot that essentially commandeered the lower level of the Spanish Villa that houses Finca. The staff, menu, and kitchen are Hunanese but the atmosphere is all white-tablecoths, bouquets, jazz music, and the quiet ambience of a small town art gallery.
The food
Fortunately, neither the villa setting nor Xintiandi’s tackiness bleed into the fare, which is unapologetically Hunanese from the spices, which are imported from Hunan, to the gawping Hunan Double-Pepper Fish Head (68RMB), which bug-eyes you as you plunge your chopsticks in. If you’re a fish head connoisseur, add this guy to your resume. It may not stack up to Guo Yuan or Xiang Quan Xiangcun in terms of bang for your buck (it’s actually quite small for a fish head) but it’s still a classic dish: split down the middle, half-blanketed in red chilies and half in green like some piscine Harvey Dent, bathing in oil, and harboring a smorgasbord of different flavors and textures. Pluck out morsels of meat, swish them around in the sauce, and enjoy.
Also, Xi Na doesn’t succumb to Guo Yuan syndrome, whose non-fish head dishes seem to be simply leeching off the fish head’s celebrity, but rather boasts a worthy backup chorus, including cumin pepper ribs (68RMB) and tofu hotpot (38RMB). The cumin pepper ribs actually compare to Di Shui Dong’s illustrious pork ribs; the meat itself is not quite as tender, but it’s more gilded with fat. The tofu hotpot, labeled ‘hot pot tofu crispy’ on the menu, entails golden tofu blocks coated with delicious chili oil and scattered with fatty bacon and green scallions. A definite must-try.
The drink list is the only part of the menu where the Xintiandi/Villa influence manifests itself. Instead of jumbo bottles of cold draft Tsing Tao, you get those tiny brown baby bottles that you can drain in one sip, for 30RMB each no less. The same goes for Budweiser and Heineken.
Final thoughts
Consider Xi Na sworn into Shanghai’s fraternity of quality Hunan joints. It may not bring too much new to the the table as you can find arguably better versions of many of its top dishes at other, cheaper spots. But it’s got a variety of hit dishes, probably the chicest atmosphere of any Hunan restaurant, and a central location. And considering that Xi Na straddles Xintiandi, the prices are a charity drive.
Xi Na – 373 Huangpi Nan Lu, near Xingye Lu, Huangpu district (黄浦区黄陂南路373号, 近兴业路). Tel: (0)21-6386-2898. Hours: 11.30am-11pm daily.
See a complete list of our reviews here.
Benjamin Cost is Shanghaiist’s Food Editor. Email tips, recommendations, and news updates on Shanghai’s dining scene to [email protected].


Follow @ShanghaiistFood

Share this:

  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • Print
Shanghaiist

© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Be a Patron
  • Join the Community
  • List Your Event
  • Be a Venue Partner
  • Submit a Gallery
  • Work with us
  • Privacy & Terms
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
  • L!FE
  • FOOD
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO
  • TICKETS
    • FAQ
  • ★ BE A PATRON
    • ★ DONATE

© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!